By Fatou Sillah
Veteran journalist Demba Ali Jawo has called on the Gambia Police Force to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation into the death of Omar Badjie, who reportedly died in Mandinary after an encounter with police.
Speaking on Kerr Fatou, Jawo stressed the need for both clarity and accountability, given the conflicting accounts from police authorities and local residents.“We expect a postmortem; probably the doctors will be able to determine what actually killed the person. A lot of other things are possible, so I think a postmortem needs to be done in this particular case, and also, there should be a proper investigation on this side,” Jawo said.
He emphasized that the credibility of the police is at stake. “All these things are very important as far as the credibility of the police is concerned,” he added.
According to the police, Badjie collapsed after falling during a chase, lost consciousness, and later died at the hospital. Villagers, however, strongly dispute this account, alleging that he was beaten to death by officers.
Jawo warned that the incident risks further eroding public trust in the police, especially in light of recent accusations of misconduct.
“Recently, we have had a lot of allegations against the police. If the police seem to be sliding back to what they used to be accused of during the Jammeh era, definitely it is not a good omen for the credibility of the police in this country,” he cautioned.